US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with NATO’s secretary-general to discuss Ukraine’s recent military gains and how European countries will get through the coming winter with less Russian gas and oil. VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
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Month: September 2022
Dozens Reportedly Killed In Islamic State Attack in Mali
Dozens of civilians were killed this week in a northern Malian town attacked by jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group, a local elected official and the leader of an armed group told AFP Friday.
It was the first time the town of Talataye, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the city of Gao, has been attacked on such a scale by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
On Tuesday, the jihadists fought a fierce battle with rivals from the al-Qaida-affiliated Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and other armed groups, including the Tuareg-dominated Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA), people familiar with the events told AFP.
The ISGS fighters, who emerged from the bush on motorbikes, took control of the town Tuesday evening after more than three hours of fighting, AFP learned earlier this week.
The situation on the ground remains unclear, as information is difficult to come by in the dangerous and remote Sahel area, largely cut off from communication networks.
The death toll also varies according to different accounts.
A local official said that 45 civilians had been killed, while an MSA leader put the civilian death toll at 30. Both spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity and added that houses and the market had been torched.
An international humanitarian worker in the region said “several dozen” civilians had been killed.
It is unclear whether the civilians were deliberately killed or caught in crossfire.
Both the local politician and the MSA leader said there had been at least a partial withdrawal of ISGS fighters since Tuesday.
MSA fighters entered the town on Thursday, the group said. It says it now controls one part of the area while the GSIM controls another part.
MSA fighters have “gathered information and bodies,” he added.
“What really worries us is the humanitarian situation — the people are left to fend for themselves,” the local politician said.
A women’s association from the area, but based in Gao, launched an “urgent appeal” on Friday to “come to the aid of the battered population.”
Caught in the crossfire
Talataye, an agglomeration of hamlets, lies at the heart of competing areas of influence, and clashes are frequent. It had some 13,000 inhabitants in 2009, the date of the last census in Mali.
The area is mainly inhabited by Tuareg Dahoussahak nomads, with few urban centers and a sparse population.
The GSIM is said to be influential there.
Other armed groups consisting mainly of MSA fighters that signed a 2015 peace accord are also based there.
The regions of Gao and Menaka, to its east, have for months suffered infighting among jihadist groups as well as violence between jihadists and other armed groups.
The state has a very weak presence, and civilians, mainly nomads living in camps scattered across the desert, are frequently caught in the crossfire.
Jihadists attack the civilians, often on suspicion of siding with the enemy.
Hundreds of civilians have died, and tens of thousands have been displaced.
The Malian government on Tuesday said it had carried out a “reconnaissance offensive” of Talataye from the air.
The army’s communications chief, Colonel Souleymane Dembele, told the Malian press Friday that the occupation of Talataye by ISGS jihadists was “fake news.”
ISGS, formed after a split with other jihadist groups in 2015, has flourished in recent years in the border area between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
It recruits largely from historically marginalized nomadic communities, and is responsible for numerous civilian massacres, notably in Seytenga, Burkina Faso, where 86 civilians were killed in June.
One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Mali has been battling separatist and jihadist insurgencies since 2012.
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US Sanctions Iran for Cyberattacks on Albania
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced sanctions Friday against Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, or MOIS, for a cyberattack launched against Albania’s government computer systems in July.
In a statement, Blinken said, “In July 2022, cyber attackers determined to be sponsored by the Government of Iran and its MOIS disrupted Albanian government computer systems, forcing the government to suspend public services for its citizens.”
In a separate statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said in addition to conducting malicious cyber activity against Albanian government websites, the MOIS, led by Minister of Intelligence, Esmail Khatib, also committed cyber-espionage and ransomware attacks in support of Iran’s political goals.
The Treasury statement said Iran also is behind the leaking of documents purported to be from the Albanian government and personal information associated with Albanian residents.
Under the sanctions, the Treasury Department said all property and interests in property belonging to the MOIS and, specifically, Khatib, subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
In his statement, Blinken said since at least 2007, Iran’s MOIS and its cyber-attacking proxies have conducted malicious cyber operations targeting a range of government and private-sector organizations across various critical infrastructure sectors.
He said Iran’s cyberattacks can cause grave damage to these governments’ abilities to provide services to civilians and disregard the norms of responsible peacetime state behavior in cyberspace.
Blinken added, “The United States will continue to use all appropriate tools to counter cyberattacks against the United States and our allies.”
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UN Raises Concern About Treatment of Disabled in China, Ukraine
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has raised concerns about the treatment of people with disabilities in China and Ukraine. The two countries are among nine whose records came under review by the 18-member monitoring group during its latest session.
The committee said it is deeply concerned about the reported detention of people with disabilities from Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in so-called vocational education and training centers in China. It said their special needs are not being met and urges China to release them and meet all their disability-related needs while in detention.
The United Nations, human rights groups and many governments have sharply criticized China’s forcible internment of more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim groups in Xinjiang province, accusations China vigorously denies.
Committee member Risnawati Utami said a Chinese government delegation did not agree with the committee’s observations and conclusions.
“There is denial of some recommendations,” Utami said. “But, again, we work on the consensus with our committee based on the reporting that we have. … So, basically, we are trying to state what we have in the concluding observations and hope that the Chinese government will accept our concluding observations without any reservations.”
The committee held a special session about people with disabilities in Ukraine. Vice chair of the committee Jonas Ruskus said the panel heard testimony that people trapped in conflict zones had been denied evacuation and access to basic services. He said at least 12 disabled people reportedly had died in residential institutions.
“We received information that persons with disabilities, they are in institutions in territories under control of Russian Federation,” Ruskus said. “They have been kept in inhuman conditions, subjected to ill treatment and used as human shields by Russian Federation armed forces.”
Ruskus said the committee also has received reports about persons with disabilities who have been forcibly transferred to the Russian Federation or to territories under Russian control.
The committee is urging both Ukraine and Russia to immediately evacuate people with disabilities who are institutionalized in conflict zones in Ukrainian territory under their respective control.
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Africans Say Goodbye to Queen Who Led Britain into Post-Colonial Era
Condolence messages on the death of Queen Elizabeth have been pouring in from Africa, where the queen made many visits during her 70-year rule.
Elizabeth became queen while in Kenya in 1952, and her first overseas tour as monarch was in South Africa. She later helped steer Britain through the end of its colonial rule in Africa, while promoting good ties with the continent’s new countries.
The presidents of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are among the African leaders who sent messages mourning the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died Thursday at the age of 96.
The queen’s early years on the throne saw Britain lose its colonial empire in Africa.
The United Kingdom at one time controlled at least 17 countries in Africa, and British rule is still associated with conflicts, forceful extraction of natural resources and land grabs.
Ikemesit Effiong, a geopolitical analyst based in Lagos, Nigeria, said the queen mended her country’s post-colonial relationship with many African countries.
“In particular, the United Kingdom have built and maintained extensive economic, political and cultural ties with much of the rest of the continent. Even though there has been more of an ambivalent attitude on the path of many African governments and for many Africans towards Europe in general since the turn of 21st century, a lot of those longstanding ties still persist,” Effiong said.
Kenya is one of the countries that Britain colonized, and then-Princess Elizabeth became queen during a visit to Kenya in 1952, when her father died while she was on safari.
Macharia Munene, an international relations lecturer at the United States International University Africa in Kenya, said the queen’s ascension helped to accelerate self-rule in the country.
“Then that’s the time when the country was boiling,” he said. “The Mau Mau was about to break out and the fighters kept following the events in Britain and that’s part of the reaction when the war broke out. They burned down the tree tops, hitting back at the British and then when she was being coroneted, [Kenyans] coroneted their own young girl and called her the Mau Mau Queen.”
Effiong said Queen Elizabeth took a different path than previous British leaders in dealing with Africa.
“Queen Elizabeth was very much different in that she was the first British monarch in almost two centuries that represented disengagement,” he said, adding that she invested in a lot of monarchies’ legitimacy, such as in the Commonwealth nations associated with the cultural institutions.
The Commonwealth of Nations has 56 members, most but not all of which are former British colonies. The member states meet to strengthen relations and tackle global problems together.
The queen visited more than 20 African countries during her rule, starting with South Africa.
Munene said the queen made sure she changed the image of British rule.
“She is the last monarch who has any connection with colonialism. As long as people talk about colonialism in Africa, there is no choice but to see her in that context as the last monarch,” he said. “She had direct colonial experience and she saw the transition from colonialism to independence, she welcomed it. She nurtured it such that the hostility that could have been there was reduced to a point where it became now embracing each other and people feeling good about the Commonwealth.”
Speaking at the Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda this June, then-Prince Charles said he treasured the friendship Britain had built with Africa in the last 70 years, and was looking forward to deepening the relations in the years ahead.
Charles, 73, takes the throne from his late mother and becomes King Charles the Third. The new king will be the head of state for the United Kingdom and 14 other countries.
your ad hereRights Groups Say Zambia’s Defamation Law Is Used to Silence Critics of President
Zambian rights groups are calling on the government to make good on a vow to repeal a defamation law they say is being used to silence critics of President Hakainde Hichilema. The call comes after Zambian police arrested an opposition leader this month under the colonial-era law for insulting the president.
Zambian court Tuesday charged the leader of the opposition Patriots for Economic Progress party, Sean Tembo, with hate speech, which carries a punishment of a fine of up to $6,000 and two years in prison if he is found guilty.
The charge followed Tembo’s September 1 arrest after he posted online criticism of President Hakainde Hichilema’s monthly fuel price hikes, comparing them to menstruation.
While the charge was reduced, Zambian rights groups note the arrest was the latest carried out under a harsh, colonial-era law against defaming the president.
The 1965 law carries a punishment of up to three years in prison for insults against the president and has been used by past governments to silence critics.
Campaigning for president in last year’s election, which he won, Hichilema promised to revoke the law.
In the past year, though, rights groups say Zambian police arrested 12 people under the law, including members of opposition political parties. Two were released, six were jailed, and four, including Tembo, are awaiting trial.
Chama “Pilato” Fumba is a popular musician and director of the group People’s Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia. He himself has been arrested several times for insulting Zambia’s president.
He says the defamation of the president as a law is very backwards and very unnecessary in a democratic country like ours. “This law should be scrapped off our constitution as it does not represent our interests and our aspirations as a country. It is a bad law that even good presidents can become bad presidents.”
Hichilema’s spokesman was quoted in Zambian media saying the president had nothing to do with opposition leader Tembo’s arrest.
Cornelius Mweetwa is a lawyer and spokesman for the ruling United Party for National Development.
He says Zambia’s opposition is being petty in complaining about the law.
“It has nothing to do with restriction of the freedom of speech because this is not a law promulgated and enacted under the new dawn administration. It is a law that has always been in force but one where now the opposition wants to take advantage of to be insulting the president when they are arrested so that they can say no change has occasioned in Zambia. Deep down their hearts they know that this is a different Zambia. This is Zambia that the people wanted and voted for.”
Mweetwa would not say whether the government plans to amend the controversial law.
Macdonald Chipenzi is director of Zambian rights group Governance, Elections, Advocacy, and Research Services.
He says the government will continue to abuse the defamation law if there are no campaigns to end it.
“So, the only thing that is required now is to call for the immediate review or reform of this law so that it is not infringing on the freedom of the people and also try to bring in the aspect of civic education on the responsibilities of citizens as they express themselves as they enjoy this freedom.”
Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard met with Hichilema in Zambia in March and repeated their position that the law should be repealed, citing its past use against critics, opposition, and journalists.
The president said his government was committed to upholding human rights, liberties, and freedoms but would maintain strict adherence to the rule of law.
The Zambian court has not yet set a date for Tembo’s trial.
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Ukrainian Children Head Back to School Amid War
Though hundreds of Ukraine’s schools have been destroyed during the war, the new school year has quietly started. And while some things haven’t changed, many Ukrainian schoolchildren are facing new and frightening realities. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by David Gogokhia.
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India’s Congress Party Leader, Rahul Gandhi, Leads Long March to Revive Support
India’s opposition Congress Party leader, Rahul Gandhi, has embarked on a mammoth five-month march across the country as he seeks to resurrect his party’s political fortunes before 2024 general election.
The “Grand Old Party” that dominated India’s politics for over five decades has been pushed to the margins since 2014, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to power.
The 3,570-kilometer trek across 12 states that began Thursday amid the sound of drumbeats and waving of national flags, has been billed as a “Bharat Jodo Yatra” or “Unite India March.” Starting from the southern state of Kerala, it will end up in the north in Kashmir. It is taking place as opposition parties accuse the ruling BJP of polarizing the country along religious lines and weakening democratic institutions.
Praying at a memorial in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where his father, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated in 1991 by a Tamil suicide bomber, Gandhi tweeted before embarking on the march, “I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too.
The party seems to be emulating a tradition of long political marches in India. The most famous was led by independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 to resist British rule. Another political roadshow led by BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani in 1990 to campaign for building a Hindu temple at the site of a mosque catapulted the party into national prominence.
Calling the Congress Party’s march a landmark occasion, the party president, Sonia Gandhi, said, “I am confident our organization will be rejuvenated.”
After two humiliating defeats in general elections in 2014 and 2019 under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the party has also suffered significant losses in state elections in recent years. It is being called a dispirited party that has floundered in its bid to counter the dramatic rise of the BJP.
“It’s quite a hill they have to climb. In the last two elections, the BJP has substantially increased its vote share and it also seems to have spread to many parts of the country, east, northeast, even parts of south, where it was marginal. And the personal appeal of Mr. Modi is probably more than that of any other leader in decades,” said Mahesh Rangarajan, a professor of history at the Ashoka University.
“From the Congress party’s point of view, this outreach is a major initiative to give their party a boost and an impetus,” he said.
At the same time, analysts also question whether the long march will be enough to lift the party out of its deep political slump ahead of the 2024 election without addressing the core problems that have led to its decline.
Walking about 20 kilometers a day and spending the night in makeshift accommodations, Gandhi aims to connect with India’s people, according to senior Congress leaders, who are calling it a “mass mobilization” program.
Although he stepped down as party president in 2019, Gandhi is seen as the de facto leader in a party that has been dominated by the Nehru-Gandhi family.
However, there have been many questions raised over his leadership.
A string of senior leaders has quit the party in recent years – the most recent to leave, Ghulam Nabi Azad, called Gandhi “immature” and “childish,” and accused the leadership of “foisting a nonserious individual” at the helm of the party. Little attention was given to a group of 23 leaders who last year demanded reform in a party long accused of following dynastic politics.
“The big problem leading to the Congress Party’s massive decline is that sections of party leaders are losing trust in their own leader and voters are also losing trust in the leadership of the Congress. The leader is not even seen as legitimate within his own party,” according to Sanjay Kumar at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi. “That is the biggest crisis facing the Congress,” he said.
Other analysts agree. They say, while the campaign marks a starting point to revive the party, it has simply not done enough in recent years to offer a credible alternative to the BJP and to Modi, whose rankings continue to stay high despite such problems as mounting unemployment and inflation.
“Rahul Gandhi simply has not clicked with the people of India. And the Congress Party is showing little signs of reviving. It has been accused of becoming a party that is flabby, stagnant, a party of the drawing room, used to being in power while the leadership is accused of entitlement in a young, aspirational India,” said independent political analyst Neerja Chowdhury. “To hit the road again and go back to the people is a good idea but it is uncertain whether it will work,” she said.
The jury is out on whether the march can help the Congress Party’s revival.
“Can this stand-alone event do it? There is a big question mark on it,” Kumar said, although, according to him, it could “trigger a momentum in favor of the party and have some positive impact on its image if not its electoral prospects.”
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UN Chief: Flood-Ravaged Pakistan Wrongly Attacked by ‘Blind’ Nature
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, while referring to Pakistan’s catastrophic floods, said Friday that “humanity has declared war on nature and nature is striking back.”
Guterres spoke in Islamabad at the start of his two-day visit to express solidarity with the flood-ravaged South Asian nation. He said nature is blind and it is not striking back at those who have contributed more to the war on nature.
“It’s like nature has attacked the wrong targets. It should be those that are more responsible for climate change that should have to face this kind of challenge,” Guterres said.
He described Pakistan among the places most affected by the consequences of climate change.
The country of about 220 million people contributes less than 1% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, but it is constantly listed among the top 10 countries vulnerable to climate change.
“So, there is an obligation of the international community to massively support Pakistan in these circumstances, and there is an obligation of the international community to take seriously the need to drastically reduce emissions,” he said.
Guterres renewed his call for increasing international support to help Pakistan deal with the emergency, promising mobilization of more U.N. resources.
“We know that our contribution is limited. We know that what we do is a drop in the ocean of the needs, but we are totally committed,” he said.
Pakistan is currently being hit by catastrophic and unprecedented floods stemming from historic monsoon rains that began in mid-June. The U.N. says the seasonal downpours “have broken a century-long record” and dumped more than five times the 30-year average for rainfall in some parts of the country.
The flooding has claimed the lives of about 1,400 people, including nearly 500 children, and has affected 33 million others, with nearly 700,000 people made homeless, and has drenched one-third of Pakistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Nearly 13,000 people have been injured and upwards of 750,000 livestock have perished in floodwaters,
Pakistani officials say damage to infrastructure and property also has been colossal, as more than 1.7 million homes have been washed away or damaged. The flooding has turned most of southern Sindh province, one of the hardest-hit regions, into an “ocean of water,” according to Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman.
The U.N. has called for $160 million in international assistance to help the flood victims. The World Health Organization has said more than 6.4 million flood victims need humanitarian support.
The National Disaster Management Authority, in its latest situation report, said the raging floodwaters have washed away 246 bridges, nearly 7,000 kilometers of roads, and swamped more than 809,370 hectares of farmland across the country. Officials estimate the disaster could have cost the country between $15 billion and $20 billion in losses, and the reconstruction process could take years.
More than 50 international humanitarian relief flights have arrived in Pakistan as of Friday from countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, China, France, Iran, Britain, Azerbaijan, Norway, the United States and Kazakhstan.
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Zelenskyy Meets with US Secretary of State
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address that he and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an unannounced visit Thursday to Kyiv, talked about a variety of topics, including designating Russia as a terrorist state.
“The legal reality must always correspond to the actual reality. And it is a fact that Russia has become the biggest source of terrorism in the world,” Zelenskyy said. “The world must receive an unequivocal signal that Russian terror will not be forgiven.”
Also in his daily address, Zelenskyy said, “More than a thousand square kilometers of our territory have been liberated since September 1.” The president said, “I am grateful to everyone who made it happen. I am grateful to the army, intelligence officers, and special services for every Ukrainian flag that has been hoisted these days.”
“Ukraine’s extraordinary front-line defenders continue to courageously fight for their country’s freedom,” Blinken said in a statement after meeting with Zelenskyy. The top U.S. diplomat reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s commitment to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”
Meanwhile, the United States said Thursday it plans to send $2.2 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine and 18 other European countries threatened by Russian aggression, and another $675 million directly to the Kyiv government in a new munitions package to fight Moscow’s invasion.
A news pool report said Blinken “entered Ukraine’s fortified presidential administration building through a series of dark hallways with sandbags stacked over windows that eventually led to a white room with gold trim and crystal chandeliers.”
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for the “enormous support” the United States has sent Ukraine, praising Biden and the U.S. Congress for helping Ukraine “return our territory and lands.”
Overall, the new U.S. assistance would bring its Ukraine-related aid total to $15.2 billion since Biden took office in January last year. The $675 million in military assistance includes heavy weaponry, ammunition and armored vehicles.
Blinken said the $2.2 billion in long-term aid would “bolster the security of Ukraine and 18 of its neighbors, including many of our NATO allies, as well as other regional security partners potentially at risk of future Russian aggression.”
In a separate statement, the State Department said the aid would help those countries “deter and defend against emergent threats to their sovereignty and territorial integrity” by bolstering their military integration with NATO, the U.S.-dominated Western military alliance.
Pending expected congressional approval, about $1 billion of $2.2 billion would go to Ukraine and the rest will be divided among Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, the State Department said.
In New York, Russia called a U.N. Security Council meeting to criticize the West for sending military support to Ukraine in what its envoy said has become a proxy war.
“NATO basically manually directs Kyiv in the theater of war,” Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed.
He said it is “empty fantasies” that Western weapons will bring the Ukrainians victory on the battlefield.
“New weapons will not change the balance of forces and will only extend agony of the Zelenskyy regime,” he said.
Washington’s envoy said Moscow had nerve to suggest countries should step aside as it seeks to destroy another U.N. member state.
“The United States is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their lives, their liberty and their democracy. We are not hiding this support,” Ambassador Richard Mills said. “Ukraine and all U.N. member states have every right to defend themselves, and we won’t stop our support to Ukraine just because Russia is frustrated that its attempt at regime change has not gone to plan.”
Earlier, at a meeting of Western officials in Germany coordinating support for Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “the war is at another key moment,” with Ukrainian forces in the midst of a counteroffensive to try to reclaim lost territory in the south of the country. He said, “Now we’re seeing the demonstrable success of our common efforts on the battlefield.”
Even so, U.S. officials indicated diplomatic talks between Ukraine and Russia do not appear to be a top priority for Ukraine.
“Right now, the Ukrainians do not have a viable map from which to negotiate,” one senior State Department official said. “Twenty percent of their territory has gone, something like 30% of their industrial and agricultural potential is gone. That’s why they’re launching this counteroffensive.”
Defense ministers from Germany and the Netherlands said on the sidelines of the meeting with Austin that their countries would provide new training for Ukrainian forces on how to deactivate Russian mines and send demining equipment to the Kyiv government.
In addition to fighting in the southern reaches of Ukraine and the eastern industrialized Donbas region, shelling continued near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.
Both sides have blamed each other for the attacks, even as the United Nations atomic energy watchdog agency has called for the creation of a safe zone around the facility to prevent a catastrophe akin to the nuclear plant disaster at Chernobyl in 1986.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
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Britain Mourns the Death of Queen Elizabeth
Britain’s King Charles III is returning to London on Friday from Balmoral Castle in Scotland where his mother, Queen Elizabeth, died Thursday.
Charles, who is 73 and the oldest monarch to ascend the throne, is scheduled to deliver a televised address to a nation in mourning Friday, his first address as head of state.
The king is also set Friday to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth appointed Truss to her new position as prime minister on Tuesday, just two days before Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died.
Parliament is holding a special midday session Friday to pay respect to the queen. Truss and other ministers are also set to attend a remembrance service Friday for the queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Later, gun salutes are scheduled to be held at Hyde Park and other locations.
Elizabeth’s funeral will be held in the coming days at London’s Westminster Abbey and that day will be designated as a National Day of Mourning, a public holiday.
Growing mountains of flowers and tributes to the queen are gathering not only at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, but also at British embassies and cathedrals around the world.
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Taliban Make Little Progress in Countering Drugs
Unlike his predecessor, who almost terminated opium production in Afghanistan in the last year of Taliban rule with one decree in 2000, the current supreme leader of the Taliban appears to be unsuccessful in implementing his ban on opium production.
In April, shortly after Afghan famers harvested opium from their 2021 poppy cultivation, Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree outlawing poppy cultivation and the production, sale and use of all other drugs.
As this year’s poppy cultivation season approaches, the Taliban have presented a modest scorecard for their counternarcotics achievements.
Over the past year, less than 100 hectares of poppy fields were destroyed, about 2,000 drug dealers and traffickers were arrested, and 4,270 kilograms of opium were seized, according to figures from the Taliban’s Interior Ministry.
These figures put the Taliban regime far behind the previous Afghan government, which presided over two decades of soaring drug production in Afghanistan, in counternarcotics performance.
In 2020, the Afghan government made more than 3,100 drug-related arrests, seized about 80,000 kilograms of opium and eradicated almost 1,000 hectares of poppy fields, according to the U.N. and Afghan officials.
“There is serious doubt on the intentions of the current rulers whether they really want to eradicate poppy,” said Javid Qaem, a former deputy minister for counternarcotics in Afghanistan and now a researcher at Arizona State University.
“At the time of the Republic, security was a big challenge. Police could not go to the areas where poppy was cultivated. Taliban claim that they have all the areas under their control. They should be able to do it easily,” he told VOA.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has yet to release its annual assessment of the Afghan opium production for 2022 but says the trend appears unchanged.
“Although the peace process in Colombia and the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan have essentially ended insurgencies, both countries have to date retained prominent roles in illicit drug cultivation and production,” the UNODC reported in June.
Economic considerations?
Income from opium production, estimated between $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion, made up about 12% to 14% of Afghanistan’s GDP in 2021.
With the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has plunged deep into an economic crisis that has pushed nearly all Afghans into poverty. The U.N. says more than half of the Afghan population is in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
“Drugs have been a critical source of economic revenue in this impoverished country,” Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA, adding that the drug money was also going to members of the Taliban.
Taking serious action against the powerful drug trade, particularly under current economic conditions, will worsen the poverty in Afghanistan and could result in local opposition to the Taliban, experts say.
The Taliban reportedly pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars from Afghanistan’s illicit drug trade. Between 2018 and 2019, the group earned more than $400 million from the trade, according to U.N. and U.S. officials.
The Taliban, however, deny involvement in the drug trade.
The Taliban’s war against drugs may also be slow because of internal frictions, Qaem said.
“Certain groups of Taliban are involved in this trade. It will be difficult for them to control their own ranks and files. It could lead to internal rifts, and I do not think the Taliban leadership will take this risk at this time,” he said.
Not only a Taliban job
The U.S. has spent more than $8.82 billion on counternarcotics projects in Afghanistan over the past two decades, according to the Special Inspector General for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan (SIGAR).
Because Afghanistan produces more than 80% of the heroin consumed globally, other donors such as the U.N., the World Bank and the European Union also aided counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan.
The former Afghan government even created a Ministry of Counternarcotics to deal with the problem, but despite all the efforts made and money spent, Afghanistan remained the world’s No. 1 opium producer.
Foreign donors have ceased development assistance to Afghanistan, including funding counternarcotics programs, since the Taliban seized power last year.
“The State Department’s current policy prohibits direct assistance to the Taliban. While some counternarcotic programs remain active indirectly — administered through implementing partners and NGOs — other programs have been terminated or paused following the Taliban takeover in August 2021,” a spokesperson for SIGAR told VOA.
Isolated and pressed under economic sanctions, Taliban officials say they need foreign assistance, mostly in creating alternative sources of livelihood for poppy farmers and employment opportunities for poppy field laborers, in order for them to effectively rid the country of its illicit drug economy.
“It is impossible to do effective counternarcotics only through eradication of poppy fields,” Felbab-Brown said, “and if you do not rely on the use of force, there have to be economic tools to apply, which also appear unfeasible under the current financial sanctions.”
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India, China Withdraw Troops from Disputed Himalayan Border Area
Indian and Chinese troops are pulling back from one of the several disputed border areas in the Himalayan mountains where they have been locked in a standoff for over two years.
The Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday evening that troops had begun to disengage from the area of Gogra-Hotsprings “in a coordinated and planned way, which is conducive to peace and tranquility in the border areas.”
The announcement marks a step forward in resolving a military standoff that began after a June 2020 clash in Ladakh in the western Himalayas killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
Both countries have since deployed about 50,000 troops each, backed by fighter jets, artillery and tanks along the Himalayan borders, along what are called “friction points” along their unmarked 3,800-kilometer border. At several places, the troops are positioned in close proximity.
“The perception that things could flare up due to the military standoff have been diffused so the pullback has created a degree of tranquility in Ladakh,” Brigadier Arun Sahgal from the Delhi Policy Group, a think tank in New Delhi, told VOA. However, he warned that the buildup along Himalayan borders by the two countries will not end anytime soon.
“Both sides have built up certain capacities and capabilities and they are here to stay. To that extent the postures will remain hard, so I don’t think the de-escalation will take place any time soon.”
Protracted negotiations between each side’s military commanders to end the standoff in the last two years have made slow progress. The agreement to withdraw troops from the Gogra-Hot Springs area came in the 16th round of talks, held last month between the Indian and Chinese military commanders, a year after they last announced they were withdrawing troops from another area.
The pullback comes ahead of a regional summit to be held next week in Uzbekistan, scheduled to be attended by both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. There has been speculation in domestic media of a likely meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit marking their first direct contact since tensions erupted after the 2020 border clash.
India has repeatedly said that ties with China will not improve unless the status quo that existed along the Himalayan border prior to that clash is restored.
“The state of the border will determine the state of the relationship,” Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week at the launch of an office in New Delhi of the Asia Society Policy institute, a think tank.
Key disputes at other places along their Himalayan borders continue to pose a challenge – one of the toughest to tackle is an area called Depsang Plains, where Indian analysts say Chinese troops are blocking access to a key mountain pass.
However, the latest pullback of troops in Ladakh has led to some optimism. “A sort of political narrative is being created that there is a move forward,” Sahgal said, which ”probably would open up space for more political-level consultations.”
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, World’s Longest-Serving Monarch, Dies at 96
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 at her Balmoral residence in Scotland. She was Britain’s longest-serving monarch and this year celebrated 70 years on the throne.
Elizabeth was the only monarch most living Britons have ever known: a symbol of her nation, its empire and its Commonwealth.
Early life
Her teenage years were overshadowed by World War II, which she and her sister largely spent in the relative safety of Windsor Castle, west of London.
She personified British strength and character long before she even knew she would be queen.
In 1947, on her 21st birthday — then seen as the beginning of adulthood — she gave a now-famous televised address on her first official overseas tour in South Africa. “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she said.
That same year she married the Greek-born Prince Philip. He was a distant cousin, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and the great-great-grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria.
Coronation
In February 1952, Princess Elizabeth and her husband were in Kenya when news broke of the death of her father, King George XI. She returned to London as Queen Elizabeth II. Her coronation, at the age of 27, took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.
She saw a thorough transformation of society and technology during her reign of more than seven decades, a time in which she warned about the dangers of throwing away ageless ideals while embracing the advantages of new inventions. She sent out her first tweet in 2014.
Record-breaking
There are few royal records she did not break: she was Britain’s most traveled, oldest, longest-reigning monarch.
“As head of the Commonwealth, the queen has links with the past. Sometimes it’s a past that’s difficult to come to terms with because you think of empire, you think of colonial exploitation for example,” royal author and broadcaster Richard Fitzwilliams told VOA. “But so far as the queen is concerned, you think of her dedication to the organization.”
As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II represented Britain in friendships with those who held in common the British values of freedom, equality and democracy — and with dignity she faced those who did not. She traveled to more than 100 countries and met countless prime ministers, presidents, kings and queens — hosting many of them in lavish state visits to London.
State visits
Among the dozens of world leaders to visit Buckingham Palace during her reign were Ethiopian Emperor Haile Salassie; French President Charles de Gaulle; Emperor Hirohito of Japan; President Nelson Mandela of South Africa; President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe; Russian President Vladimir Putin; U.S. Presidents George Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump; and Xi Jinping of China.
The queen was not immune to criticism in her own country. Some targeted her as a symbol of an institution out of step with a postmodern, neo-liberal and democratic world – and a burden on the British taxpayer.
Diana
The death of the popular Princess Diana in 1997 was an opportunity for critics who accused her of being coldly slow to react. When she did address the nation, it was heartfelt. “What I say to you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart. First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being,” Elizabeth said.
The marriage of her grandson Prince William to Kate Middleton in 2011 brought youthful glamour to the ancient institution.
When Prince Harry married American actor Meghan Markle seven years later, Queen Elizabeth II was at the head of a family that appeared to be moving with the times: popular, diverse and global.
Family troubles
But there were painful times ahead. Her second son, Prince Andrew, was investigated for links to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harry and Meghan fell out with the royal family amid accusations of racism.
The passing of Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, in 2021 left an enduring image: a queen mourning alone — as the coronavirus pandemic swept across her nation.
In June 2022, Britain celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th year on the throne.
On Sept. 6, just two days before her death, she appointed Liz Truss the 15th prime minister of her reign. It would be her last major public duty.
Legacy
Queen Elizabeth remains a giant in the history of one of the planet’s most influential nations; a bridge between Britain’s colonial past and its future as a global player in a world vastly different from the one in which she was born.
Visiting Germany in 2015, addressing President Joachim Gauck, she spoke of the vast changes she had witnessed. “In our lives, Mr. President, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better, but we know that we must work hard to maintain the benefits of the post-war world,” she said.
Elizabeth will be remembered for her dedication, says royal biographer Matthew Dennison. “I think the importance of the length of her reign is simply that throughout that period she went on doggedly doing the job to the very best of her ability with total conviction — and I think with love,” Dennison told Reuters.
Britain’s royal tradition, of which Elizabeth was a steward, is now in the hands of her heirs, as her first son, King Charles III, ascends the throne. The Britain they inherit is a drastically different one in terms of demographics, culture and economics.
In a globalized, pluralistic world, their job of projecting an image of greatness is no less complicated.
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Reporter’s Notebook: Former Foreign Correspondents and a Historic Week in UK
Editor’s note: VOA’s Sonya Lawrence Green happened to be in London during a historic week: Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned, Liz Truss became the new prime minister, and Queen Elizabeth II died after a 70-year reign. Here is her account.
I was sitting in a pub in London, on a weeklong visit to the United Kingdom, when the head barman rang a bell and shouted: “The queen is dead! Long live the king!”
Everyone stood up. All eyes turned to live coverage on the large TV screen. The mood was grave and respectful and hushed for several minutes. The whole country had been on what was being called “queen health watch,” and now Queen Elizabeth II had passed away at the age of 96. The queen’s death was not unexpected, but somehow it still came as a shock.
What a week to be in London. Boris Johnson delivered his farewell speech as outgoing prime minister, Liz Truss became the new prime minister and formed a new government, and the queen passed away after a historic reign.
There we were, a group of former foreign correspondents, once colleagues, now scattered around the globe, but reunited briefly in London for the memorial of a colleague. And now, a few days later, we were chatting in a pub when this news broke. Not on duty. But still.
At our table, we got to work. Not official work, but as journalists, if there is news happening, it’s instinctual to reach for more details: call, text, share memes, ask, “Have you seen this?” “Did you know that?” “What have you heard?”
I read aloud the accession protocols, which I found on an email from my news agency, and we marveled at the incredibly specific and arcane rituals of the British monarchy, while admiring their consistency in applying those customs for 900 years.
After getting all the facts straight, we turned to more personal reactions and talk. Nina sent video, sharing the atmosphere at the pub on her social media. Josh leaned over to ask if we had seen this tweet from @TheTweetOfGod, which said: “I can only save the Queen for so long.” Jane, who was awarded an MBE by the queen at Buckingham Palace for her services to broadcasting, sent a WhatsApp message speculating that the visits by outgoing Prime Minister Johnson and incoming Prime Minister Truss this week may have added undue stress to “Betty,” as she called the queen.
I decided to walk back to my hotel to monitor the ongoing coverage. In the rainy streets of central London, people were gathered in clusters, some sharing their thoughts about what happened. Flags were being lowered; plans were being made for ceremonies to come.
A swell of pedestrians headed toward Buckingham palace with flowers, in a heartfelt urge by some to express their condolences and convene with others to share this historic moment. A double rainbow had appeared over Buckingham Palace, drawing media attention and wishful talk of it being a sign that Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth were bidding a final farewell.
I took a moment to breathe in the damp London air and reflect on the life of a woman who had served her country as queen during unprecedented change in Great Britain and the world — to reflect on those who loved or hated or were indifferent to her and all she stood for — and to know that whatever comes next, she was released from this world now, her legacy complete.
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Analysts: Oromia, Amhara Violence Threatens to Widen Ethiopia’s War
The conflict in Ethiopia between the federal government and rebels in the Oromia region has received little attention as the civil war in the north intensifies. Attacks have underscored growing tensions between the ethnic Oromo and ethnic Amhara. Henry Wilkins reports from Shewa Robit, Ethiopia.
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